ahhh, indeed, I did not get the joke.
As you must have found out by now, Italians are almost never coffee geeks, and do not make a big deal about coffee. We expect great coffee as a matter of course and with minimum fuss: a cup of espresso should cost 1 EUR and take 30 seconds to serve at the counter. No equipment needed except a moka (and a grinder, if that's your pleasure). Buy once, use forever.